Tag Archives: business
Is a new property law set to be introduced?
New legislation has been proposed that will give Dubai property investors greater levels of protection.According to the Real Estate Investment Management and Promotion Centre of the Dubai Land Department (DLD), the Tanweer law has been set up and is now ready to be officially sanctioned, the National reports.The organisation said that legal experts had given feedback on the draft regulations last year.Head of the centre Majida Ali Rashed told the news provider the law – which protects the rights of real estate investors and aims to create more transparency across the sector – is the first of its kind in the world.”The [DLD] will issue in the coming period a fully integrated law that will protect the rights of real estate investors through a comprehensive framework based on transparency and clarity of the contractual relationship between the developers and the investors,” she was quoted as saying.Experts have welcomed the impending introduction of the law and stated that more information would be made available once it is officially put in place.Alexis Waller, partner at the legal firm Clyde & Co, said anything that enhances confidence in the city's property sector is to be welcomed and the rules have been set up in a way that balances the interests of both developers and investors.Several recent studies have highlighted the growing demand for property in the UAE and it is generally accepted that the government's proactive approach to stimulating investment activity in the country is one of the main reasons for its popularity.Earlier this month, Global Investment House's GCC Real Estate Quarterly report showed the UAE and Saudi Arabian property markets are still leading the way in the Middle East.The research indicated that Dubai landlords were able to hike their rents by ten per cent in the first quarter of 2013, while the hospitality and commercial property sectors also performed extremely well during the three-month period.With new legal safeguards in the pipeline as well, it is easy to see why Dubai is one of the most sought after investment hotspots on the planet at the moment. The First Group can find you some excellent properties in Dubai Continue reading
Carbon Offset Projects Look for Exit As UN Prices Crash 98%
Many companies not required to cut their pollution may do so regardless, to bolster their credentials. Photographer: Victoria W. Laka By Alessandro Vitelli Jun 12, 2013 8:48 PM GMT A 98-percent drop in the value of official UN-backed carbon credits is pushing sellers of emission offsets into the voluntary market, where prices are as much as 30 times higher. The trend is a signal that many companies not required by law to cut their pollution are doing so anyway to bolster their corporate sustainability credentials. Voluntary carbon credits — as opposed to the mandatory pollution-cutting regimes faced by industrial emitters in Europe and elsewhere — frequently offer benefits beyond CO2 cuts, such as reducing child labor, improving health and lowering energy costs in developing countries. The additional benefits, found only in non-UN certification programs, help companies claim they are doing more to make themselves and the world “sustainable.” “In the voluntary market, the project itself and the story behind it are almost more important than the price,” said Nathan Wimble, commercial director at the CarbonNeutral Company, a London-based voluntary offset seller. “People want to see additional benefits from an offset project, such as social, economic, sustainability and biodiversity.” You don’t see those benefits with a typical UN offset, he said. The UN’s Clean Development Mechanism has registered 6,700 individual projects that together are expected to generate more than 1.9 billion one-ton carbon offsets by 2020, according to a May 29 World Bank-commissioned report . That’s at least 800 million fewer tons than the bank estimated the previous year. What’s more, it’s also at least 300 million tons greater than the estimated demand for credits in 2020. Voluntary credits are generated when a certifying organization, such as the Gold Standard or the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), invest in projects that support the deployment of low-carbon technology or energy efficiency measures. These initiatives consequently reduce pollution below the business-as-usual level that would be expected without them. The reductions are then sold to companies. The Gold Standard and the VCS have certified more than 1,750 projects and created almost 170 million credits since 2003. Gold Standard offsets can earn from 8 to 12 euros a ton. VCS sells credits from as little as $1 to $8 a ton, depending on the project type, the country and the methodology employed, according to Gareth Turner, a voluntary offset broker at Armajaro Securities Ltd. in London. UN credits for December delivery were at 43 euro cents today on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange. The CarbonNeutral Company acquires certified voluntary offsets from projects around the world, which it packages into offset portfolios for corporate clients including Avis Budget Group Inc., Tata Steel Ltd., British Sky Broadcasting Group plc and Thomson Travel International. “I think most people hope that there will be a revival in the CER market” and want to keep their UN registration, said Renat Heuberger, chief executive officer of South Pole Carbon Asset Management Ltd., a carbon offset developer and aggregator in Zurich. “Selling CERs to voluntary buyers is probably going to be easier than re-registering” an entire carbon-reduction project with a voluntary market. Correction: The original post incorrectly stated the name of the Verified Carbon Standard . Analysis and commentary on The Grid are the views of the author and don’t necessarily reflect the views of Bloomberg News. Visit www.bloomberg.com/sustainability for the latest from Bloomberg News about energy, natural resources and global business. Continue reading
Muslim women from new angles
Muslim women from new angles Sarah Young / 15 June 2013 Artists in the UAE are calling people to visit a new online exhibition to expose themselves to the plight and success of Muslim women around the world, and challenge common stereotypes. Artist and University of Sharjah College of Fine Arts and Design lecturer Dr Fatima Zahra Hassan said Emirati women, in particular, should view a new online exhibition (http://muslima.imow.org) showcasing the stories of Muslim women from around the world. “I just feel that women here are not exposed, especially some Emirati women…they’re living in a cocoon…a utopia which is perfect and some don’t know what is happening outside and how women are suffering around the world.” Hassan is one of the three Sharjah-based artists featuring on Muslima: Muslim Women’s Arts and Voices, which is a global online exhibition from the International Museum of Women, incorporating art and the written word to explore identity and break stereotypes. Originally from Pakistan, Hassan trained at the London Royal College in Indo-Islamic, Mughal and Persian Painting techniques, with an emphasis on Art of Book. Hassan, Sharjah-based painter Haafiza Sayed and writer Dalia Merzaban will be holding workshops about their crafts and how their art forms have helped develop their identity, followed by a panel discussion, “How do you know who I am”, at the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation today. Hassan added the exhibition had really opened her own eyes up to both positive and negative aspects of being a Muslim woman. “The texts, images and photos were really overwhelming. “But I got to know more about the positive things about Muslim women all over the world.” Hassan has done a lot of voluntary work in Pakistan and the UK, including in flood refugee camps with women and children. “So I had seen so much misery and tragedy… but this exhibition showed a much broader side of Muslim women. I came to know about a (Pakistani) woman who just reached the peak of Mt Everest… and then I did a lot of research about women in developing countries who had achieved a lot, and working in areas that are very uncommon for women to work in.” Despite the perception that art was not a career, meaning many creatives here went into interior design, multimedia or graphic design instead, there were a growing number of female Arab artists coming through, she said. However, not many newer Emirati artists were dealing with women’s issues. “Because most of these women are coming from privileged backgrounds so they can’t think of issues, apart from being more free and independent … they have got everything. “If you look at the (exhibition) website, the best works are from American, Iranian, Afghan and Pakistani American artists. The photos are really outstanding…really thought-provoking concepts and ideas.” Sayed, originally from India and who has lived in Sharjah for five years, said that even if a “a small part of worldwide opinion about Muslim women (is changed as a result of the exhibition), it (is) a step forward.” She got involved because it was a chance to challenge recognised stereotypes associated with Muslim women. “We’re constantly being judged by our appearances and attire… (people think) we’re oppressed, we don’t have a life, maybe we are not educated, that we belong to a society that dominates us. Yes there are some societies like that, but look at the UAE …women are working and having all kinds of jobs.” These stereotypes came from both outside and within their own community, she said. “If you don’t stick to a particular way of dressing, you’re labelled un-Islamic or astray…that’s what my second painting is about…she is judged in and out of her own community no matter what she wears.” Sayed will be talking at the workshop about how she found herself through art. After “getting lost” and losing the will to paint following her formal training, she became an interior designer and only years later picked up the paintbrush again, determined to ‘unlearn’ what she knew, and rediscover her own style. “Since then, I have grown spiritually through my art…10 years ago, if someone asked me what I liked, I wouldn’t know what to say…now I know what gives me pleasure, what inspires and drives me.” — sarah@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
